Puzzled by the Puzzle of Back Pain!?!?

The Health and Wellness section of the L.A. Times today had and article entitled "The Puzzle of Back Pain". I could not believe what I was reading and was compelled to send an email to the writer, Karen Ravn.

I'll just post the email I sent and leave it at that, without any additional rant. It is my great wish that she would contact me so I could pull away the curtain on many of these issues and expose what is really going on between the lines.

Dear Ms. Ravn,

I’m puzzled and even shocked by your article about back pain “The Puzzle of Back Pain” in today’s L.A. Times. You really drank the Kool Aid on the medical party line. I sincerely invite you to contact me to get some direction about articles that would help the public become enlightened about this and other healthcare issues. After 30 years in the healthcare profession I have valuable insights to share.

You may have noticed our nation is in the midst of a health care crisis. Corporate medicine on all levels, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, certain physician specialty groups are financially protected to the detriment of our nation’s health and financial well being. With 75% of all bankruptcies in the U.S. being related to medical bills, AND, 65% of those had health insurance, we have a boondoggle of giant proportions going on that is comparable to the financial industries tricks that darn near destroyed our economy.

You quote Dr. Richard Deyo, stating that “surgery can be very effective for certain conditions: ruptured discs…etc.” As a professor of “evidence based medicine” at Oregon Health and Science University Dr. Deyo ignores the fact that there is no high quality peer reviewed studies published in leading medical journals to support his contention.

Epidural steroid injections are not recommended by the American Academy of Neurology for the treatment of radicular lumbosacral pain in their 2007 clinician guidelines due to a lack of “evidence” of benefit. This war cry of “Evidence Based Medicine” is consistently used to manipulate the system when convenient and forgotten when it serves the right person’s purposes.

Certainly no article about back pain should ignore the benefits provided by Doctors of Chiropractic. According to Pran Manga, PhD, MPhil, health economist, "There is an overwhelming body of evidence indicating that chiropractic management of low back pain is more cost-effective than medical management." ( Manga P, Angus D, Papadopoulos C, Swan W. "The Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic Management of Low Back Pain." Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health, August 1993.)

He is not alone in his assessment. Numerous international and American studies have shown that for nonspecific back pain, manipulation was heads above all other treatments. In fact, Anthony Rosner, PhD, testified before the Institute of Medicine: "Today, we can argue that chiropractic care, at least for back pain, appears to have vaulted from last to first place as a treatment option." (Testimony before the Institute of Medicine: Committee on Use of CAM by the American Public, Feb. 27, 2003.)

My specialty in Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression also stands as a vital option for those with debilitating back pain caused by herniated or degenerative discs and spinal stenosis along with radicular pain, and helps them avoid surgery. Ironically, patients have to pay out of pocket for these services as most insurance companies claim a lack of “high quality peer reviewed studies published in leading medical journals to support its use”. Yet, they still pay for the surgeries and epidurals even though they lack the same standard of proof and cost much more.

I would like to encourage you to contact me and do a real story that strips away the myths and B.S. that hurt everyday people. My contact info is below. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Dr. Bruce Shannahoff, D.C.